Smooth Green

A new leaf on my ‘Dwarf Namwah’ banana plant.

Royal Ensign

The true-blue flower of Convolvulus tricolor ‘Royal Ensign’.

New Leaf

A new leaf on the Abyssinian banana.

New Nasturtium

The first bloom on my new nasturtium plant.

Tropical Forest

I wish…actually my tropical garden looking up from below.

Downright Tropical!

California is in the grip of an unusual heat wave. Today, the temperature got up to 83 degrees Fahrenheit! The garden is really starting to wake up and is taking advantage of the warm weather. My banana plants are starting to grow quickly, and I have rebuilt the tropical fountain set-up.

Warm Weather!

It seems spring is finally here in the Bay Area. Temperatures are supposed to be in the high-60s to low-70’s for at least another week. The warm temps have caused my garden to start growing. Soon I will get my tropical garden back together. I will post photos when everything is set…

Tropical Heliconia Seedling

Here is one of the long-awaited heliconia seedlings. So far three have germinated out of about 20 that were planted. If the weather gets warmer, the seedlings should start to grow a faster pace, and maybe they’ll bloom in time for summer. We shall see…

Heliconia Success

A few months ago, I collected about twenty seeds of a low-growing tropical heliconia that was, despite frost, thriving outdoors in the open. I brought the seeds home and scattered them in a trough of soil, and now they have germinated. I read that they can take up to ten months to germinate, so it seems to be a miracle that the seeds have grown in the dead of winter. The species is Heliconia psittacorum. The picture on the right shows a flower on the plant from which I collected seed.

A Stark Contrast

A healthy king palm frond set against the background of a defoliated sycamore. I must say that palms are my favorite trees for winter!